Riots in Mbengwi after arrest of retired Commissioner

The town of Mbengwi, headquarters of the Momo divilsion in the North West region of Cameroon was in total lockdown after the arrest of a retired police officer and his family by security forces.

The retired police, Simon Akuro Awasom, his wife and one of his sons, Malkon Awasom were arrested alongside 150 others Friday, January 26, after security forces raided the town following to crack down on alleged separatists.

The arrests of the Simon Akuro Awasom angered the population who rose up and took the Gendarmerie brigade hostage for hours prompting the officers to release him.

Earlier on, the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR) accompanied by Gendarmes, Police and the Army descended on the town, ransacking houses, arresting young people and looting property as they search for those who masterminded last week abortive attack on the BIR Camp.

As the troops made their search, television decoders and dishes suspected to be relaying signals of the Southern Cameroons Broadcasting Cooperation (SCBC) were carted away. Mobile phones and other electronic gadgets were also seized, while the security officers fleeced huge sums of money from those arrested during the raid as they scrambled to obtain their freedom.

Meanwhile, speaking to reporters after the January 26 incident, the Senior Divisional Officer (SDO) for Momo, Monono Absolom Woloa, beseeched the population to shun disorder and strive to live in peace and tranquillity.

According to him, the military will not tolerate such uncivil behaviour where some unidentified gunmen tried to attack the BIR Camp in Mbengwi.